


Alone At A Table For Two

by Shaleschnueffler



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Dates, Awkward Flirting, Awkwardness, Bad Decisions, Conversations, First Meetings, Flirting, Food, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Nicknames, Pizza, Restaurants, Sam Winchester is So Done, Sharing, Small Talk, Smooth Gabriel, Strangers, Student Sam Winchester, Talking, The Author Regrets Nothing, Weirdness, and so does Sam, maybe not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 21:36:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18646555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaleschnueffler/pseuds/Shaleschnueffler
Summary: Sam is at a restaurant, has just finished his meal - and there's one slice left of his pizza. Deciding that throwing it away would be a waste of his money - he's a student after all, money doesn't grow on trees -, he offers it to the next person he sees nearby. Of course, out of all the people there, he manages to pick out just the one who's short, weird, annoying, and has beautiful eyes.





	Alone At A Table For Two

**Author's Note:**

> This took me way too long. Partly because I accidentally deleted the first draft. GG.

Weighing his options, he looked down at the last slice of pizza that was still left on his plate, turning the fork in his hand while biting his lower lip. It was late evening and Sam had gone out to eat something a little more fancy than instant noodles or frozen food for once to reward himself for the work he'd done the past week and the great results on his latest exam. He'd ordered water, red wine, and a large pizza in the restaurant that he often walked past on his way to college but that he'd never dared to enter - it wasn't exactly a place for students who were barely getting by, and he'd always been sure that, if he cast a single glance at the menu, he would probably spend more money here than he could afford to lose. Well, he'd been right. But he didn't regret a single thing, not yet at least. The food was totally worth it.  
  
Right now, though, he was struggling a little. It wasn't the end of the world, but it sure as hell was getting on his nerves: The last slice. He knew that he shouldn't eat it. For the sake of his health and comfort, because he was a hundred percent sure that his stomach couldn't take a lot more, and even _thinking_ about forcing a single piece of _any_ food down his throat was making him feel sick already - on the other hand, he was a student. A student who didn't exactly have much money. And, moreover, a student who hated the thought of perfectly edible food going into the trash. Therefore, leaving it to go to waste really wasn't an acceptable option either.  
  
Still thinking, he let his eyes dart around in the hall, trying to come up with a plan that made him feel neither like he was about to die, nor like a bad person. He had some kind of weird idea in his mind but for that, he needed to find a person who fit his requirements. And there were quite a few of those.  
  
As expected, most of the people eating there were dressed relatively formal, wearing shirts, blazers, dresses, and blouses; and sitting either in a group or simply with a partner, Sam being one of the few misfits who were eating alone - and he really didn't want to interrupt any dates or conversations. Taking in his surroundings and fellows, he sighed. Things didn't exactly look good for him. However, just when he was about to nevermind his plan with a huff and focus back on trying to find a different solution for the struggle at hand, he laid eyes on a seemingly short guy at a table a couple feet away who was staring at his phone like it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen - Sam really couldn't blame him, though, there really was nothing else to do while you were waiting for your food to be brought or your order to be taken, especially if you were alone. He wrang his hands as he began to worry his lower lip, thinking. The man seemed to be a decent pick for his plan; neither looking arrogant nor stressed or otherwise dick-ish. Golden hair of medium length, clean white shirt, black pants, a dark coat slung over the back of the chair, and - the most important thing - a smile on his lips.  
  
Deciding for himself that it was the best thing he could possibly do right then, Sam took a deep breath, put down his fork, grabbed his jacket, phone, and plate, and made his way over to where the man was currently raising a half-empty glass of coke to his lips. No alcohol. Even better. But still, the closer he got, the less sure he became of his plan. Reminding himself that if the stranger was a total asshole, he could still just leave the rest of the food and go home without having to talk to him any more, he straightened up.  
  
\- "Uh, hi there", he started once he'd come to a stop next to Short Guy who looked even shorter from up close, and mentally slapped himself in the face for the awkward approach. A muscular giant of a man standing proudly with his shoulders squared, talking like a shy teenage girl having her first conversation with her crush. Great first impression, definitely.  
  
The man didn't really seem to notice though; put down his phone within split seconds, and directed his attention up at Sam, opening his mouth to say something but when he laid eyes on the student, he simply raised a questioning eyebrow.  
  
\- " _You_ are _not_ a waiter", he concluded after a moment of silence, looking the taller man up and down with a smirk before adding a swift, suggestive "Not that I'm complaining or anything" that had Sam shift a little. At least he didn't seem pissed off or anything. That was a good sign, right? He just needed to get rid of his food and then he could get out of there.  
  
\- "Uh, I... Okay so that might sound weird but I just ate and I, uh, got this one slice of pizza left and wanted to know if you'd like to have it - right, now that I said it out loud, I realize it makes me seem like I'm trying to drug you but I _swear_ the thing's totally clear, I didn't even touch it and--"  
  
\- "Whoa, slow down there, Sasquatch!", the man suddenly cut him off with a chuckle, and Sam couldn't help but feel grateful for being interrupted like this. He tended to get off the point whenever he was nervous, babbling and babbling until somebody finally ended his misery - or until he himself realized that he should probably stop talking, which mostly led to awkward silence afterward.  
  
\- "So, wait, you want me to...eat your pizza. Why the hell don't you just leave it like a normal human being?", Golden Eyes asked but his tone wasn't cool or distant or wary, simply curious and somewhat mocking. Right. Sam could deal with that.  
  
Smiling sheepishly, he shrugged.  
  
\- "I'm a student, money doesn't exactly grow on trees", he admitted with a soft laugh, "Plus, I can't stand food waste."  
  
\- "Can't take it with you?"  
  
\- "Only eat fresh stuff."  
  
The guy nodded slowly; shortly and silently mulling over Sam's words like the decision was going to change his life, before he spoke up again.  
  
\- "And you moose of a man picked me because...?", he asked with that same curious, yet suggestive look he'd worn when he'd first looked at the younger man, and Sam couldn't help but roll his eyes. The stranger _was_ a bit of a dick after all. It was in a...not as horrible way, though? He really didn't know what to think of this man. But it was nothing he couldn't deal with.  
  
\- "You were the first guy I saw, actually", he smoothly gave back and watched the expression on the other man's face turn into a staged frown, traces of amusement still visible in his gleaming whiskey eyes.  
  
\- "Whatever, I'll take it!" With a wink, he reached up to accept the plate Sam was holding out to him, and set it down in front of him before looking back up again. "So, say, how do I repay you?"  
  
Sam had just been about to say goodbye, turn around, and walk off to leave the restaurant and finally get home - and therefore the question caught him more than a little off-guard. He'd simply offered the guy a slice of pizza, and not even because the man had _wanted_ it but because _Sam_ had wanted to _get rid_ of it, what the hell was there to repay?  
  
\- "You don't need to--", he tried, but he didn't even have time to finish his sentence, because the stranger, who, apparently, hadn't even been paying the slightest bit of attention to him, snapped his fingers all of a sudden before pointing at Sam with a genuine, cheerful grin, startling him.  
  
\- "I know! Let me buy you a drink!"  
  
\- "Listen, I really don't-", he tried, raising his hands in a defensive manner, but the other man simply wouldn't stop talking.  
  
\- "Okay, that pizza was, what? Sixteen dollars or something, right? They usually divide it into eight pieces so I'd normally offer you a two dollar drink now but you _obviously_ get the hot bonus, so four dollars it is!"  
  
And before Sam could even protest or roll his eyes or do _anything at all,_ the waiter was already approaching with the man's actual order, a pasta of some sort, and as he accepted the plate, the stranger flashed him a winning smirk.  
  
\- "Excuse me!", he spoke up when the dark-haired man had just stepped away, and he turned back around, looking at the short guy with an expression that silently told him to go on. "Could we get another drink?"  
  
\- "Of course, sir!", the waiter reassured, quickly fetching a ballpoint and a notebook, ready to note down any order they were gonna make, before he looked back and forth between Sam and the stranger who motioned for him to speak up.  
  
Sam, though not exactly happy with having to play along with whatever Shorty was trying to do, felt forced to respond in order not to make things even weirder, and after casting Amber Eyes another murderous glance, he raised his voice to politely ask for a water. As the waiter left with a smile, he turned to face the stranger who was still wearing this same shit-eating grin on his lips.  
  
\- "Pffft", the guy started, though the smirk betrayed his obviously staged disappointment, "Such a special man and such a boring drink! Have a seat while we're waiting, wontcha, Gigantor?" A single wave of his hand, and Sam had sat down across from the man with a surrendering sigh like a goddamn _trained puppy_ listening to his owner. What the hell was he doing? He should be at _home_ by now, looking over his latest essay before going to bed so he wouldn't be too tired for his damn classes tomorrow. Instead, he'd just sat down with a _stranger_ and had let him buy a freaking _drink_ for him-- "Name's Gabriel by the way!"  
  
Okay, did that make them acquaintances now? It probably did. And first names, particularly one like his own, weren't exactly confidential information. There was nothing wrong with giving it away so Gabriel would stop looking at him like this, right? Right.  
  
\- "Sam", he gave back softly when the urging expression on the face of the man across from him started to make him feel a little uneasy, and just when he'd thought that maybe, silence was going to take over until it was so uncomfortable and oppressive that he had a reasonable excuse to leave, the shorter man raised his voice, just as cheerful and loud as before, like the past few seconds of quiet hadn't even _happened_.  
  
\- "That makes you _Samsquatch_ then, eh?"  
  
Sam groaned quietly, burying his face in his hands. Had this man just spent _five seconds_ trying to come up with a pun _this_ terrible? Yes, he had. Oh boy. This was going to be a long, _long_ wait. Especially considering the way Gabriel started talking all of a sudden - and the way he _simply wouldn't stop again_.  
  
But, for some unknown reason, Sam stayed. Even when the food was brought, even when the waiter left again; while Gabriel ate, and when Gabriel paid for his food and the water; even though he'd emptied his glass long ago.  
  
One seriously couldn't blame him, though.  
  
His life was boring. At least in comparison to what he'd heard from his friends and family. He was a law student without a lot of free time who fed on oven-ready meals basically fresh from the freezer.  
  
So, of course, this dinner, everything about it, was a relief from all the monotony and boredom he had to face all day, and, honestly, he really couldn't complain about all the attention the short man was giving him, asking questions about him in-between short random facts about himself. Although Sam didn't talk a lot, only when Gabriel gave him no other choice, he kept listening, attentively; generously ignoring all the terrible nicknames that fell from the older guy's lips. Gabriel was a positive and optimistic human being, constantly joking and telling one hilarious story after another while still somehow managing to involve Sam in the conversation - or, well, monologue, rather - from time to time, and the student found that it was, in fact, a welcome change, seeing as he rarely had any time to relax or let go otherwise. No parties, no meet-ups, no actual hobbies besides his regular workout. Most of his life had always consisted of either studying or working, and he was used to fast food, take-out, and talks that, for the most part, only revolved around projects and classes.  
  
Gabriel, though? Gabriel talked about everything and anything. Candy, trash movies, his favorite patterns, his dog named Dog, the difference between the ironical and unironical usage of emojis and fidget spinners, memes, his "dick brothers" (quote Gabriel), his personal top ten of worst songs in existence, his passion for pastries. Sam felt like he knew more about the man in front of him than about his closest friends. Gabriel spilled facts that the student had _never_ heard from _anyone_ before. He didn't just mention the mundane things, like his age or occupation, but _personal_ ones, despite them not being _anything_ near intimate. What he said was _interesting_ in such a _weird_ way; posing questions that Sam had never even _heard_ before. He was unlike every other person that the taller man had ever met. One of a kind, so to say.  
  
They sat there for at least one and a half hours, and although Sam had looked down at his watch and noticed that he should probably go home multiple times, he hadn't mentioned it even once, simply focusing back on the man who was currently talking about the toilet LED light he'd recently found on Amazon, telling himself that he could handle only four hours of sleep.  
  
It was almost 1 AM when Sam decided that it was finally time to call it a day. He had to get up pretty early after all, and although he'd love to let his body and mind relax for a little longer, he really had to get home at some point. Clearing his throat, he stood, awkwardly gesturing around when Gabriel raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
\- "I should...probably get going, I got classes tomorrow, sorry", he breathed, the words sounding ten times less certain and definite than he'd imagined them to be. He could only hope that the shorter man wasn't going to ask him to stay.  
  
The worries were clearly unfounded though, because Gabriel rose from his seat with a cheerful "Alright!" that drew some strangers' attention (he didn't care, of course, he didn't), standing for the first time ever since Sam had laid eyes on him for the first time, and yes, _he was short_. Even shorter than he'd originally guessed. So he hadn't even gotten _that_ right about him. Wow.  
  
\- "Thanks again for the drink, Gabriel. Have a good-", he spoke with a smile, waving goodbye, and turning to leave already, but the older man appeared to have different ideas, charging forward to grip Sam's wrist gently yet firmly, keeping him from leaving.  
  
\- "Whoa, wait, wait, wait, Samalam! You owe me four dollars!"  
  
As soon as the student had whipped back around to face him again, eyes narrowed in suspicion, the blond let go of his arm, smirking. The fuck? What the _actual fuck?_  
  
\- "What?", Sam huffed, confusion and a tiny trace of disbelief clear in his voice as he stared, dumbfounded. "Gabriel, you said you-"  
  
Before he could get too worked up or mad at the man - and he'd _definitely_ been close to _that_ -, Gabriel cut him off again, with that dumbass grin still on his lips, leaning against the chair as he suggestively waggled his eyebrows.  
  
\- "But your number would be enough as well"  
  
\- "Uh", was all Sam managed to say, blinking, noticeably irritated as his brain tried to catch up with Gabriel's words. Had he just...been hit on...and...blackmailed? At the same time? ...Okay - then again, the shorter man had been hitting on him ever since he'd first even _looked_ at him. But _this_? _This_ he _really_ hadn't expected. Gone was the more or less subtle flirting, replaced by a direct and unmistakable attempt at _actually staying in touch_. Gabriel was being serious. And Sam had to either _pay_ or _agree_ \- okay, well, technically, he could just turn on his heels and walk off while swearing to God that he was never gonna talk to strangers or think about this particular one ever again, but the gears in his head were still working in an attempt to finally catch up with the whole situation -, and so, of course, the only thing that Sam did was awkwardly stand in front of Gabriel, motionlessly looking into his honey eyes, frozen in place.  
  
He only seemed to snap out of his trance when his _acquaintance-and-maybe-soon-to-be friend_ nudged his arm - because even Sam's admittedly disappointing reaction didn't seem to throw him even _slightly_ off track -, waving his phone around right in front of the taller man's face, urging him to finally start talking and so Sam nodded slowly. It was an impulse. A kneejerk reaction. Because he didn't have a _single_ clue what the _hell_ he was doing.  
  
\- "Right, uh...", he sighed, surrendering and starting to dictate Gabriel his phone number as he watched the blond type away at the speed of light. Once the shorter man was done, he let his phone slide back into the pocket of his black pants before expectantly holding out his hand that Sam eyed warily.  
  
\- "You should get my number as well, just in case I lose my phone or something", he winked, and although the excuse was _incredibly_ poor and it could've as well been an attempt at freaking _robbery_ , Sam didn't even hesitate when he opened his contacts with a roll of his eyes but without any complaints. Somehow surprised by his own instinctive reaction, he let the phone fall into Gabriel's open hand who immediately turned it around to type in his data. Luckily _without_ pocketing it and running off.  
  
Wow, this really was the weirdest day he'd had. Like, _ever_.  
  
As the shorter man handed it back, their eyes met; Gabriel's whiskey ones gleaming with mischief and joy as he opened his mouth again.  
  
\- "You free on Friday at around six pm?"  
  
\- "I normally-"  
  
\- "Great, it's a date! See ya then, Sammich!"  
  
And with that, he'd gotten up, put on his coat, and walked out the door in a matter of seconds, leaving Sam standing at the empty table alone, phone in one hand and jacket in the other. Surprised, confused, dumbstruck. Unsure, he let his eyes dart down to his phone to look at the newly saved contact, mostly to have some kind of proof that yes, this had _actually happened_ and he wasn't simply _going insane_ or something, but what he saw made him groan in annoyance. There wasn't even a last name he could search for on Google or social media to get some background info. There wasn't even his _first name_ , for fuck's sake! Just the words _"Moose Tamer"_ in capslock with a red heart and some cringe-worthy emojis. _Emojis that were definitely used ironically_ , he thought with a small grin.  
  
He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he started to gather up his stuff and began to let his thoughts wander.  
  
Alright, so...what exactly had just happened...and how the hell had he managed to run into a person like _Gabriel_ in a restaurant like _this_? For real now, what were the chances? How did he... _why_...?  
  
Ugh, he was starting to get a headache. He should've gone to bed at least an hour ago.  
  
Shaking his head and deciding to try to postpone the overthinking and analyzing until his brain was capable of keeping up with his thoughts again, he threw on his jacket, pocketed his phone, and left.  
  
Walking home, he noticed that it was _impossible_ not to think about this.  
  
Still confused and with his brain trying to catch up with what had just happened, he began to wonder just how things had even been able to _get_ this far - from pizza leftovers to... _this_ , whatever _this_ was, but he came up with no answer. He didn't really believe in coincidences - he had his trust in God and destiny after all -, and the thought that fate had brought him to this strange man made his insides twist; not in discomfort but in anticipation. He'd never befriended a stranger outside of school or college or work. Let alone gotten their number. And _especially_ not one like _Gabriel_.  
  
The only question was if his new friend was actually trustworthy or simply after...anything, really, be it sex, gifts, money, a toy to play with. But his phone hadn't been stolen, Gabriel hadn't pushed anything, and he had time to figure this all out. He could easily lean back and see where this whole thing would lead him. Sam had really enjoyed himself after all, and the sudden trust that had made him put his brand new phone into the hands of a stranger didn't exactly speak against Gabriel either. So hell yes, he would go for it. Some new friends couldn't hurt, at least as long as he was being careful. Dean would be happy to hear that he'd finally found someone to talk to after he'd been alone with only his study buddies keeping him company from time to time.  
  
Only as he lay in bed, half asleep, did he realize that, judging by Gabriel's behavior at least, their meeting on Friday wasn't just a casual meet-up; that it would, in fact, be an actual date. That _today_ had been a _date_ , in Gabriel's eyes.  
  
And Sam didn't even question the fact that he found that he wasn't even _half_ as annoyed by that as he probably should be.


End file.
